Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Yogurt Faceoff

Activia® yogurt challenges you to eat one a day for 14 days and magically you will regulate your digestive system.It worked for Jaime Lee Curtis, why can’t it work for you?What about Activia® makes it so damn special anyway?The claim to fame that Dannon is making is that bifidus regularis, a friendly bacteria, is helping out regulating your slow intestinal transit time.I’ll buy it.I’ll tell you what else I wouldn’t buy, Activia®.The fact of the matter is, all yogurts contain beneficial bacteria aka probiotics, and there has been plenty of studies that suggest that lactobacillus acidophilus, another strand of probiotic, is also very effective at relieving signs and symptoms of GI distress.

The human gut contains 2 to 5 pounds of living bacteria and a few thousand different species, so don’t be fooled into thinking that the only one that can save the day is bifidus regularis, I am pretty sure that is not the scientific name anyway.Despite their keen marketing tactics, Activia® has a bunch of other nonsense ingredients in it that aren’t doing much for your digestive health, or your health in general.Let’s take a look at the label on their strawberry yogurt:

Remember how to do this?The third ingredient by weight is fructose syrup, aka sugar.The fourth ingredient is sugar.The fifth ingredient? Fructose again! Add up all the sugar by weight and it probably exceeds the amount strawberry and possibly even the amount of milk.As a matter of fact, there is 17 grams per four ounces of yogurt.That is more sugar per ounce than a Coke!

Do you want to get some beneficial bacteria into your diet and improve your gut heath, without O-D-ing on the sugar?Try Straus Family Creamery Plain Yogurt.The only ingredients in this yummy yogurt are organic milk and living yogurt cultures.If you are craving a little sweetness in your yogurt try adding a little honey, fruit preserves, or maple syrup.This yogurt is so delicious and good for you and I would be willing to bet that it too would regulate your digestive system in a few short weeks, no sugar necessary!

I, too, was going to add the bit about the delicious ground beetles that lend color to many foods. Maple syrup is my favorite addition, plus it contains prebiotics for the friends bugs in yogurt to gobble up and populate your gut! Nice job, Sarah. Bifidus regularis...right.

A certain daughter, when visiting home, opened our frig, and discovered non-fat yogurt on the shelf. With her most disgusted face she turned to us and said...."why would you even bother eating yogurt!" She was right! After independently (I might add in defense of myself) discovering Straus Organic Yogurt I will NEVER eat any other kind. Used to eat the Greek non-fat stuff but it pales in comparison on taste and consistency. The fact is you don't need to eat more than 1/2 cup to be completely satisfied! Thanks Sarah for the post!

Sarah and Marissa, Thanks for the heads up on the carmine...gotta love a little beetle powder in the diet. 2-5 lbs of bacteria...the bacteria in our bodies actually out weighs the number of cells we have! Crazy! Just shows you how important probiotics are.

LOL at the word "bacterius regularis"! How stupid do they think we are! I just noticed Strauss organic ice cream at Atkinson's today. Might have to try that too sometime, but I'm sure it's lacking the cultures!

so much yogurt out there is like candy - with as much sugar as a soda! i kicked it to the curb for good long ago and replaced it with lowfat, plain yogurt. if you add your own honey, granola, nuts or fruit, you have control over what you put in your body.